Overview

With excellent proximity to Utah’s most populous city, the Salt Lake City Airport offers residents of the region international air service and acts as a regional hub for Delta Airlines. An example of savvy business planning, the airport holds no debt and actually generates revenue for the city of Salt Lake, its primary owner.

History of the Airport

In 1911, city planners realized the need for a permanent landing field to service visiting aircraft. They chose the Basque Flats, an area to the west of Salt Lake City formerly used by shepherds as a grazing area for their sheep. The level ground was perfect for an airfield and soon, a runway made of charred cinders was laid down. The timing was advantageous, as a traveling airshow visited the city that same year, delighting crowds with feats of aerial prowess. The first seaplane capable of water landings was showcased by its creator, Glenn H. Curtiss, who landed his amphibious design on the nearby Great Salt Lake to the wonder of more than 20,000 spectators.

The airfield continued to act as a testing ground for stunt flying for many years. It wasn’t until 1920 when the airfield had a practical purpose, that of hosting flights from the United States Postal Service, which initiated an airmail service that year. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh visited Salt Lake City, displaying his custom-built plane, “The Spirit of St. Louis,” the same year of his historic flight across the Atlantic. By 1930, the airstrip added a second runway and city planners officially named it Salt Lake City Municipal Airport.

During World War II the airport added a third runway and acted as a base for Air Force operations. The exploding popularity of air travel after the war compelled new growth for the airport, which added a terminal building to service passengers and cargo. In 1968 the airport added its first international service and was renamed Salt Lake International Airport, the name it carries today. In 1978, the airport added a second terminal, as it became a hub for the firm Western Airlines. Developers expanded existing runways, made improvements to the two terminals, and added a fourth runway and international terminal during the next 20 years of expansive growth. In 1999, a new control tower nearly 330 feet tall as well as a parking garage for short-term use were the newest additions to the airport.

Airport Operations

As a major hub for Delta Airlines, Salt Lake City Airport handles more than 21 million passengers and 150,000 metric tonnes of freight per year. It ranks 15th in the United States for amount of annual flights and passenger numbers. The airport served as the setting for three different movies, “Airport 1975,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Unaccompanied Minors.” The airport never lost its connection to the United States military since serving as an Air Force base during World War II and currently serves as an Air National Guard base in addition to its civilian use.

Salt Lake City Airport Amenities

There are shops and restaurants in both terminals and an 18-hole golf course on airport grounds. The airport is serviced by the UTA TRAX Airport Line, a public transit train operating in nearby Salt Lake City.

Plans for the future include improvements to existing runways as well as adding an additional terminal and parking garage.

Airlines Serving SLC

Airlines that serve the Salt Lake City International Airport include American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue Airlines, Sky West Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways. The Salt Lake City International Airport not only has Delta Airlines as a service provider, it is also a hub city for Delta Airlines. The number of passengers that go through the doors of the Salt Lake City International Airport on an annual basis is more than 21 million. These passengers are on a mixture of flights both arriving and departing the Salt Lake City International Airport on an annual basis.

The Salt Lake City International Airport has two terminals, five concourses, and a total of 79 gates. Concourse A and Concourse B are found in Terminal 1. Concourse C, Concourse D, and Concourse E are all in Terminal 2. In Concourse A, passengers will find airline gates for American Airlines, US Airways, Frontier Airlines, and Jet Blue Airways. Concourse A is also the concourse in which passengers will find various flights on different airlines scheduled regularly. In Concourse B, passengers will find gates for airlines such as Delta Airlines and United Airlines. Concourse C is where passengers find flights on only Delta Airlines. Concourse D is also strictly for Delta Airlines flights. Concourse E flights are for Sky West Airlines flights.

Airlines at the Salt Lake City International Airport offer flights to many different cities around the country and outside of the country. Some destinations include Honolulu, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, and Chicago. The busiest airlines at the Salt Lake City International Airport are Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United. Incidentally, all four of these airlines also service the busiest domestic destination out of the Salt Lake City International Airport, which is Denver. These airlines fly 704,000 people to Denver every year. Delta, Southwest, and US Airways fly 579,000 travelers to Phoenix each year, and Delta flies 506,000 passengers to Atlanta on an annual basis. American Airlines’ busiest destination out of the Salt Lake City International Airport is Los Angeles, with nearly 454,000 passengers flying from Salt Lake City to this city each year. American Airlines’ also has a number of passengers on their Salt Lake City to Dallas/Fort-Worth flight each year. Jet Blue Airline’s busiest destination is New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport.